Germany to become first European state to allow ‘third gender’ birth certificates

German parents will no longer be legally obliged to register their newborn child as male or female, and will instead be officially allowed to assign the baby a “third gender” if the sex cannot be clearly identified at birth.

The new law will come into force on November 1, on the back of a
constitutional court decision which states that as long as a
person “deeply feels” that they belong to a certain
gender, they have a personal right to choose how they legally
identify themselves.

Parents of newborn infants will be allowed to leave the gender
form on the child’s birth certificate completely blank if it is
born with unusual physical characteristics making it impossible
to determine the gender.

The new law will apply to intersexuals, also known as
hermaphrodites, rather than transsexuals. Hermaphrodites are
people in possession of both female and male physical
characteristics.

Justice Minister Sabine Leuthheusser-Schnarrenberger said the
decision will have deep repercussions and will require
“comprehensive reform” of all documents issued by the
state. Adult passports currently require people to state their
gender, partly to avoid potential problems when traveling abroad.

The ‘third gender’ designation will also have an effect on
marriage laws. As of now, only men and women are allowed to
legally marry in the country. Homosexual couples can enter into a
civil partnership, and no provisions are made for unions between
other genders.

Germany is the first European country to implement such
legislation, although Australians have allowed citizens to mark
their gender on a passport as X since 2011. New Zealand followed
suit last year. Activists in both countries say the legislation
has helped curb discrimination against transsexuals and those of
indeterminate gender, whether they have had gender reassignment
surgery or not.

Silvan Agius, policy director at human rights organisation ILGA
Europe - the European branch of the International Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association - told Spiegel newspaper
that the decision will push the rest of the EU to do the same.

"Germany's move will put more pressure on Brussels," Agius
said. "That can only be a good thing."